Sunday, 7 July 2013

Cheap is the new Expensive (in the world of music videos at least)

Blimey, when I was a wee lad there used to be things called ‘event’ music videos. These weren’t the slapdash, five white guys in a basement playing guitars; these were huge undertakings that cost a fortune to put together and would be trailed on television weeks in advance to whet appetites. The internet wasn’t what it is today, so you’d have to call up friends (on the house phone) for an immediate response to what they thought, or wait till school the next day to deliberate and gage reactions.

Now the picture is way different. The music industry lacks funds to really splash out on music videos and kids are permanently wired to each other in entirely surreal ways. Also, the focus today is largely geared to pop music, which means the white guys with guitars have to set their sights even lower. Everything is just too damn expensive to do and the risks outweigh benefits. There is too much floating around in the ether which means to make a mark you have to go really exorbitantly big or get creative.

Access to affordable technology means that even indie bands can hire a geeky mate to sit at a laptop and create something which looks far pricier than what it is. Just look at these beauties for proof:

Young Galaxy’sNew Summer

This Canadian indie pop group have unleashed one of the most jaw-dropping action pieces you’ll see this summer, and a cinema ticket isn’t even required. Some will argue they’ve just pillaged the test effects B-roll from the Matrix movies, but it’s the way they’ve used it that whacks a punch. This is more poetically exciting than any blockbuster I’ve come across this year.

Foals’Bad Habit

At first I was convinced this video was alluding to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46), but then I realised I don’t know what I’m actually talking about. Also, one wonders whether the inclusion of a completely naked model mitigates any sanctimonious intentions. Still, it’s big and has some nifty visuals to boot.

Melody’s Echo Chamber’sSome Time Alone, Alone

This slot was going to These New Puritans’ Fragment Two, but the song sends me to sleep even though the video looks pretty impressive. Instead, you get Melody’s Echo Chamber with Some Time Alone, Alone. The video looks like they made it on a swanky smart phone while out on a visit to Flamingo Land, however, this is far too gorgeous a song to overlook, and the clip very much suits the sound and feel.